Monument record TQ 76 NW 966 - HMP Rochester

The convict prison at Rochester was founded in 1874. Inmates were in residence by 1875. Apart from the present segregation unit, gatehouse and chapel, none of the original buildings survive. By 1909, when the first phase of reconstruction was in progress, inmates were held in four single storied blocks. The blocks were arranged as if radiating from a centre. They had 14 inch brick outer walls and timber internal walls lined with corrugated iron. Located at the centre was the chapel; behind was the kitchen/bakery. Alford described a block of punishment cells as a two storied, single sided block in the same location as the present Segregation Unit. To the south of it was located a workshop. The convict prison also had a two storied infirmary at the end of B Wing and a school beside A Wing. A temporary convicts' workshop existed between C and D Wings while the officers' mess and the prison offices were located in a building to the west of D Wing. The convict prison was officially discontinued in 1906 and the Borstal Institution was formally opened in 1909. The conversion prompted the start of an almost total reconstruction of the prison. By 1909 the first wing, a gymnasium and bathhouse were completed. The second wing was completed by 1910 and the third by 1911, as was the remodelled kitchen and gatehouse. The fourth wing was ready by 1913. The current laundry in the area to the north of the site dates from the early 20th century and may be the workshop which was in progress in 1915. Also dating from this period is a one storied building, now used for visits, and a pair of stores buildings. The open air swimming pool opposite the front of the prison opened in 1926. North of the pool is the farm complex, established in 1906. In 1973 C Wing opened. The education block, kitchen and hospital also date from this period. In 1988 it became a Young Offender Institution, remand centre and allocation centre. In 1989 it also began to house Category C/D adults.

Historic England archive material: BF093817 HMP ROCHESTER, ROCHESTER